1946 NERC Season

The 1946 NERC season was the inaugural season of the North-Eastern Runty Championship, the first professional runty league in the world. This season featured 6 teams, who all faced each other in a home-and-away format, resulting in a 10-week schedule.

The Hempstead Clippers shocked runty supporters by winning both of their playoff games against higher seeds, winning the inaugural NERC championship.

Regular Season
The Northeastern Runty Championship kicked off its its first season on May 11, 1946, with 3 afternoon games:

In the first game, the Panthers came back from an 11-2 halftime deficit to defeat Staten Island 18-14 in Buffalo.

In the second game, a fourth-quarter goal from Wolf Alberts proved to be the difference as Boston defeated the Clippers in Hempstead, 19-15.

In the third game, a high-scoring (at the time) fourth quarter saw New York prevail in the Bronx, as they won 24-17.

Games of the Week
Week 1: Boston 19-15 Hempstead

Week 2: Staten Island 16-22 the Bronx

Week 3: the Bronx 22-20 Hempstead

Week 4: New York 33-23 Boston

Week 5: Hempstead 34-20 Buffalo

Week 6: Buffalo 12-15 Staten Island

Week 7: Boston 24-19 Buffalo

Week 8: Hempstead 29-32 the Bronx

Week 9: Staten Island 11-13 Hempstead

Week 10: the Bronx 24-18 Boston

1. NEW YORK KNIGHTS

Leading Goalscorer: Joe Hunnith (13)

The first regular season champions of the NERC were a huge surprise, the New York Knights. they came bursting out of the gate, winning their first 6 games, by an average of over 13 points. This was thanks in large part to CF Johnny Hunnith, who finished second in the league with 16 goals. They suffered a bit of a scare in the late stages of the season losing 3 straight, including a 49-13 thrashing by Hempstead. However, they finished the season off in convincing fashion, clinching the #1 seed and home advantage for the playoffs.

2. THE BRONX BEARS

Leading Goalscorer: Denny MacTominay (7)

Coming is second and clinching one home playoff game were the Bronx Bears. They started off slowly, obtaining a 2-1-1 record through 4 games. After two rough losses at home to Boston and at New York, and the season looking lost, they hit a groove, winning all 4 of their remaining games, including a thrilling 32-29 win at home over Hempstead. What was interesting about the Bears' season was that their offense and defense didn't really stand out, but their team play impressed lots of analysts. They had to have done something right to finish 6-3-1.

3. HEMPSTEAD CLIPPERS

Leading Goalscorer: Eddie Tracy (12)

Coming in third and clinching the final playoff spot were the Hempstead Clippers. Even though they finished 6-4, they scored the most points and gave up less than 200, so many columnists predicted them to surprise in the playoffs. Their high-flying (for the time) offense was led by LF Eddie Tracy, who led the ERD in 1945. On defense, ruck Earl Smith shone, and was considered by many columnists as the league's MVP (The NERC doesn't have an official MVP trophy yet).

4. BOSTON RIDERS

Leading Goalscorer: Nick O'Cough (10)

Boston, who many people predicted to at least clinch a playoff spot, finished on the outside in heartbreaking fashion, losing 24-18 to the Bronx in week 10. Paired with a 15-point Clipper victory over Staten Island, ended up making the Riders the odd team out. As well, their 1-4 home record ranked tied for last in the league. However, one bright spot for the Riders was their lockdown defense, who allowed 14 less points than any other team. FB John Hughes was considered the team's best performer, for his goal-saving tackles and high-flying clearances.

5. BUFFALO PANTHERS

Leading Goalscorer: Artie Booth (8)

Despite being the 1945 ERD champions, the Panthers fell hard in the NERC. Things were looking good at first, as they won their first two games against Staten Island and Boston, but proceeded go winless for their next 5 games, effectively eliminating them from playoff contention. On the plus side, young Artie Booth led the team's struggling offense in scoring, and analysts predict for him to break out in 1947, which could potentially turn the tides for the Panthers.

6. STATEN ISLAND ISLANDERS

Leading Goalscorer: Oz Smart (4)

Finally, in last place were the Islanders. It was a season to forget, and there were virtually no bright spots for them, offensively or defensively. They scored 4.7 less points per game than the next worst team, and gave up 1.3 more points on average. While the Islanders were expected to be bad, they certainly weren't expected to be THIS bad. Even worse, they don't really have any young stars in the making, so the next few seasons could be very painful as well for the Islanders.

Playoffs
The playoffs system for the 1946 NERC season was the first of many the league tried out in its early years. The top 3 teams in the regular season would clinch a playoff spot, and they would compete in a round-robin to determine the champion.

Notable Events:
-   The week 9 game between Hempstead and Staten Island finished 13-11 in favour of the Clippers. This is likely to remain as the lowest-scoring game in NERC/ARC history.

-   In the same game, Staten Island FB Barry Jacoerin scored an amazing end-to-end goal, which ended up being the highlight of the Islanders' season.

-   The NERC instituted a controversial rule in week 1 that forbade players from pushing each other to get to a loose ball. This was quickly reversed for week 2 due to numerous complaints.

-   Due to construction at the Knights' home ground, they played their first three home games at Governor's Park, the home field of ERD team Manhattan.